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August 2011

August 28, 2011

I joined a large throng of local folks at the 4pm Saturday showing of "Doughboy:The Movie" and a good time was had by all. I'm told "Doughboy" was the #1 movie at the Highlands cinema this weekend.

Obviously, the first thing the locals loved were the Ohio Valley locations and the many local folks who were in the movie. Wheeling Park, Wheeling Park High, Saseens, Center Cup Cafe, even a quick shot of my old friend Tom Stobart stocking shelves at his Paradox Book Store. Each time a new local venue was shown you could hear the buzzing in the audience.

The patriotic theme clearly resonated with the crowd as well. The story of a cynical young man who learned about the sacrifice of veterans and developed a different understanding of patriotism plays well as we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

But the real joy for me was some wonderful acting.

Barrett Carnahan from Caldwell, Ohio showed really professional acting chops and had an easy screen presence that could lead to big screen success.

Emily Capehart is just a delight. Every time she came on screen I wanted to smile. She has an engaging screen personality that reaches out and draws you in.

One of my favorites was Claudia Esposito who played the veterans home director with such simplicity it didn't seem like "acting" at all.

The local veterans who shared their stories on screen were stunningly powerful. My wife cried. Simplicity, sincerity, intensity, and passion were visible in them all.

Virtually all of the performances were well done and entertaining.

The producers, Rob Capehart and Kristin Nixon-Seibert, deserve great credit for gambling on a feature film made entirely in the Ohio Valley. Director JW Myers and writer Ty DeMartino are great guys who put together a really enjoyable film.

Still, a couple of small things bothered me.

There were a several story lines that seemed unnecessary: "jock beats up the new guy in school", the surprising story of Jill's Nana, even "Weekend at Bernies" Terry Kiser's character seemed superfluous (or at least without adequate foundation). They popped up without foreshadowing and faded away without any real meaning.

The main story arc is strong and the Jill-Torey relationship adds a second layer; there wasn't really a need for the other ones.

I would rather have seen the time used on those story lines used instead to develop more fully some of the other developments that seemed to just "drop" on us in the final 3rd of the movie (there were unanswered questions about Michael Allen's character that could have been more fully explored and explained, for example).

And I was bothered by the unfair stereotyping of Tory's family because of their anti-war philosophy. I understand this was a film designed to spotlight the flag-waving style of patriotism--and it achieved that wonderfully. But portraying the other side as shallow out-of-touch elites is unfair. They were shown with British accent, eating Vegan meals, doing Yoga stretches and hypno-therapy, as well as having a lack of sympathy for Jill and the veterans side of the story.

Most of the characters were shown in multi-dimension---the veteran particuarly showed a variety of attitudes and opinions. But the other side was portrayed in a thin stereotype.

With those small comments made, I encourage you to head to the Highlands in the next few days. This limited run ends on Wednesday and the entire town is talking about this flick.

August 24, 2011

WV's "Rocket Boy" is Homer Hickam, writer of the book on which the movie "October Sky" was based. Maintaining strong ties to his hometown of Coalwood, WV, Hickam worked for many years with NASA and now is a full time writer. His science-based novels are great reads, check out his web site. Now "Rocketboys" is being made into a Broadway-bound musical. Hickam joined me on "The Morning Show" to talk about the musical, and also to discuss what he sees as the future of America's space program.08-23-11 Rocketboys The MusicalThe musical will premiere at Theatre WV in Grandview, WV this weekend.

August 23, 2011

The Upper Ohio Valley United Way campaign is gearing up. Goal this year is $777,000. Why is that the goal? Luck and logic. Hear the story behind it and more about the upcoming campaign with UW Director George Smoulder and this year's campaign chair Judy Riesbeck-Wright on "The Morning Show".

West Virginia Northern Community College has become an exciting anchor of the southern end of downtown. And their efforts to provide job-based training is a big assest to local folks needing specific training for the specific jobs in our area. Training for work at the casinos and a more recent effort to begin training for jobs in the Marcellus Shale industry are 2 excellent examples. Today on "The Morning Show" I talked with college president, Dr. Martin Olshinsky about all of this.

Lately, I've found myself exploring the nexus of politics and religion more often. I want to share some of the items I come across here on my blog. Check them out, comment (or not), disregard when the saintly side is too much and you wish I would stick to politics :)

August 17, 2011

Doughboy: The Moviemade here in the Ohio Valley over the past several months is ready for a "red carpet" world premiere Thursdy at the Marquee Cinemas at the Highlands. All this week on The Morning Show we've focused on the movie with the producer, writer, director, and performers.

fIRST A LOOK AT ONE OF THE TRAILERS:

Here's the writer Ty DeMartino and I discussing the making of the movie. Also on hand, actors Michael Allen and Jeremy Harrison.

A major focus of the movie is on veterans and many local vets share their stories in the movie. Among them is Jeremy Harrison who works at a local vet center and also has started a veterans help group called "Helping Heroes".08-17-11 Doughboy Helping Heroes

August 09, 2011

Wheeling area Congressman Dave McKinley says he was surprised when S-&-P downgraded our credit rating because he felt they had sent a clear signal that raising the debt ceiling as well cutting spending would have been enough to maintain the AAA rating. He also concurs --somewhat hesitantly--with the President's comment that "America is still a AAA nation". Here's today's interview from The Morning Show.

August 04, 2011

The East Wheeling sports field is NOT being built for Central (or anyone else)...the 1100 block downtown could be demolished by year's end...and the local newspaper doesn't always get it right. Some of the comments from Wheeling's Mayor and Vice-Mayor when Andy McKenzie and Gene Fahey joined me today on The Morning Show.

Wheeling (and the Wheeling Park Commission) were among the first local governments to sign Marcellus Shale gas leases. Fahey and McKenzie both still think it was a smart move. (You may also note the Mayor's tender criticism of the veracity of the local newspaper:)

The East Wheeling sports field project has raised a lot of questions by some in the public as well by at least one local attorney. The Mayor and Vice Mayor respond to some of the public claims and Fahey says he can't wait for their "day in court" to answer the legal questions publiclly.

August 02, 2011

The GOP--in paticular the Tea Party--has won this round on Capitol Hill. The debt ceiling is raised (a good thing), the national debate has refocused on getting our fiscal house in order (good again), and the way it's going to be done is through draconian cuts to many of the advances for middle class Americans made in the past half century (decidely NOT good).

The right wing suceeded by setting the agenda....by forcefully putting forward what they wanted and what they stand for. Good or bad, they offered a plan. They gave the publilc, the politicians, and the President something to say "yes" to.

And on the left side of aisle, we continue to talk about what we DON'T want done with little to no discussions of how WE want to deal with the out-of-control budget.

Yes, part of the solution needs to be revenue increases. Specifically removing the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest among us and closing corporate loopholes.

And, yes, in a troubled economy it makes sense for the federal government to invest in the economy and the American people.

But we must cut spending as well and we just can't seem to say those words.

As the next phase of this debate goes forward, it's time for the progressive side to develop and promote a plan of its own. A plan that can be cleanly and clearly stated, promoted, and advocated for.

It means a lot of hard work, digging deep with sharp pencils, seeking out the ineffective and less-than-necessary while protecting the social contract. It requires more than talking points and cable-news one liners, it means a well formulated and EASY TO ARTICUALTE plan built on facts and details.

Bottom line: the American people believe in what we Democrats believe in.....but we have been miserable at making what we believe in clear---because we have been spending too much time huffing and puffing against the Tea Kettle steam and declaiming what we are AGAINST.